I'm Curious About Pickgaurds

[Munjibunga]

I'm going to start by clearly stating that this is not meant as an argument. I know some people feel very strongly about whether or not basses should be played with a pick. I play with a pick, yes, but I'm not trying to start anything. I'm genuinely curious, if Fender intended for people to play with their fingers, and if that's the way it's meant to be played, why do so many basses come with pick-guards?

To accommodate those who choose to play with a pick. I don't think Fender specifically intended for people to play fingerstyle or any other way.

 

[Malak the Mad]

To accommodate those who choose to play with a pick. I don't think Fender specifically intended for people to play fingerstyle or any other way.

But if that's the case, why would they have put a finger rest under the strings?

 

[peledog]

It seems a belt buckle guard would have made more sense.

 

[Chasarms]

As much as it pains some to admit, Leo Fender designed produced a bass GUITAR. That is the instrument we play.

If you compare the '51 Precision to the same era Tele, it's fairly obvious that the two are simply variations on a theme. There was no point in re-inventing the wheel. For the most part, the first P-basses employed the same design and manufacturing techniques as its cousin the Telecaster.

It's always been that way. When the Strat came out, the P bass adopted the Strat's vibe and has kept it ever since.

 

[Fuzzbass]

View attachment 364232
For a guy who never uses a pick, sure looks like he could use a pickguard.

Further proof that Leo Fender could see into the future. To hide his gift, he called it a "pickguard" instead of a "slapguard".

 

[Wesley R]

Leo gave the bass a pickguard for purely cosmetic reasons. It covered routes and cavities and gave the bass a classic look. He never intended the bass to played with a pick, in fact he thought most people would use their thumb, which is why he installed the finger rest below the g string.

My Jr High local bass hero used a thumb pic, or his thumb. So that is what I did for a while.

 

[Angel Switch]

It seems a belt buckle guard would have made more sense.

you must have seen the back of my Jackson!!!

 

[Munjibunga]

But if that's the case, why would they have put a finger rest under the strings?

For those who choose to play with their thumb.

 

[MCS4]

Fingerstyle players often wear out the finish on their basses above the pickups, if they like to rest their thumb there (myself included). It's common enough that "relic'd" basses commonly include those wear spots. On a Fender P-bass, that spot is covered by the pickguard.

 

[awilkie84]

For a guy who never uses a pick, sure looks like he could use a pickguard.

This is the better need for a PG, I think. Protecting a non-poly finish from hand oils & abrasion. My picks never come close to hitting the body when I play, but my thumb rest, palms & forearm do a number on my finishes.

 

[Leon Transaxle]

Maybe we have the right idea in the UK calling them scratchplates and avoiding all this confusion?

Although I assume it was a practical cheap way to hide the electrics and duff routing it just looks right now.
I wouldn't consider a rear routed P or Jazz; they just look wrong.

 

[Jbassrockboy]

We bassists got it all confused

Some decided its a bass and needs to be slapped or fingered...

Some of us decided to hell with that's its one hell of an electric guitar and needs to be picked

The pick guard, thumb or finger rests and chrome plates are all there to serve a purpose if we want or discard outright
If we can't work it out. lol the legacy of Leo !

 

[petrus61]

They are for aesthetics. How are you protecting the body by drilling 11-13 holes in it and covering it with huge piece of plastic? That and it covered up the control cavity.

Keep in mind a Fender with no pickguard would have been a very odd duck back then and was in keeping with the theme of the rest of their products. It was an established look for Fender and an identity thing.

 

[T-MOST]

But if that's the case, why would they have put a finger rest under the strings?

The same reason he put a pickguard on the bass... options.

 

[awilkie84]

But if that's the case, why would they have put a finger rest under the strings?

The electric bass, by Leo, was intended to be played with your thumb to give it a more upright sound. The finger rest, or tug bar, was added so you had some place to anchor your hand to make the thumb strokes easier.

 

[wideload]

From the looks and description of varied wear due to style, why not a total pickguard bass, front and back? Maybe Kevlar to protect us in those dive bars we always seem to play?

 

[petrus61]

From the looks and description of varied wear due to style, why not a total pickguard bass, front and back? Maybe Kevlar to protect us in those dive bars we always seem to play?

Some late 60's (?) P basses came with an anti cowboy belt buckle device that attached to the back of the whole bass...true story

 

[hrodbert696]

Fender marketed the original P bass to both guitarists and upright bassists. According to the Bass Book, guitarists figured they could get more work if they could play a second instrument, but found upright too intimidating, both for its bulk and its difficulty. For bassists... their uprights were bulky and difficult, and the bass guitar was both louder and more portable if you were touring. Fender didn't really know HOW players would play it, and seems to have assumed people coming from upright would play with fingers and guitarists would pick.

I don't believe the pickguard on the early P's covered routing, but I could be wrong (I haven't been able to find a pic of a 50s Pbass body without the guard). The pickup is mounted right behind the guard, not on it. The real reason for it was that the design was based on the Telecaster, which was popular with guitarists, and Teles had one, so it just carried over. The design was reshaped a bit because the P was the first solidbody instrument with an upper horn.

The other thing is that when the P was first introduced, people didn't have this fetish about the aesthetics of wood grain like we do now. It was just a slab body with butterscotch paint - I'm not sure they even added clearcoat until maybe 1957 or so, anyone know about that? So nobody thought they were "covering up the wood" with a pickguard.

 

[nolageek]

But if that's the case, why would they have put a finger rest under the strings?

Because they originally envisioned people playing the instrument with their thumb.. (Which makes me giggle when I see people insisting on a "right way" to play (pick vs fingers) - apparently if you're using your fingers, you're doing it wrong too. )

 

[Fresh Eddie]

Some late 60's (?) P basses came with an anti cowboy belt buckle device that attached to the back of the whole bass...true story

Years ago at Pittsburgh Guitars, I saw a Jazzmaster that was trashed everywhere except for the back of the body, which looked pristine. It had one of those plastic guards on it. The guys at the shop noticed me looking at it, and one said to the other "Show him the back of it!"

They looked like the plastic tray products are packaged in for retail (like a vacu-formed plastic tray for the body that went partially up the edges) and attached to the strap hangers if I remember correctly.